[A solemn statement] This set of extras is definitely not to make up the word count, nor is it used to make up for the lack of manuscripts. It is because it is related to the previous and later plots and is an indispensable part. And there are many important foreshadowings.
It’s impossible to explain.
If it is not released at this time, readers will not have a comprehensive understanding of the entire incident, and it will also affect several subsequent climax plots.
On the first day of April, the gates in front of Yong'anhou Mansion on Ziyang Street in Beijing were filled with cars and horses.
Today is the birthday of his wife, and relatives and friends are here to pay their respects.
The old Marquis Cen Angong has been dead for more than ten years, and only Mrs. Lu is still alive.
The old prince has four sons: Cen Zhou, Cen Tong, Cen Ran and Cen Gang.
Cen Zhou was the eldest son of a concubine, so his title was inherited by his second grandfather, Cen.
It's just that the second master Cen was naturally unruly and did not like to be tied down by fame. Within a few years, he gave up his title to the third master Cen Gang, leaving him with only the empty post of knight servant and his only daughter.
Traveling around, there are not many days in the capital city during the year.
Because it was Mrs. Tai's birthday, she came back a few days early.
This year's birthday banquet was more lively than in previous years because the fourth master was transferred back to the capital from Baizhou.
Baizhou is more than two thousand miles away from the capital. In previous years, the Fourth Master would send people to Beijing to bring birthday gifts to his wife. This year, the whole family came back, so it was naturally particularly festive.
Finally, the birthday banquet was over and the guests were sent away. Everyone in the Cen family was exhausted and went back to their respective rooms to rest.
At dinner time, the girl in the old lady's room came over to invite the second master.
"The old lady told me to invite the second master to come over for dinner," the maid said.
"Can I invite you, young lady?" Cen Tong only has one daughter, and he loves her like a treasure, asking about every detail.
"The old lady said that I would like to invite the second master alone to come over and discuss something." The maid had received the order and did not ask the young lady to come over.
After hearing this, Cen Tong knew that his mother had something to say to him, and she wanted to avoid her daughter.
He sighed in his heart, stood up and went out.
Although he is nearly forty years old, Mr. Cen has a tall and straight figure, an elegant demeanor, and does not look tired.
Mrs. Lu is celebrating her sixty-second birthday today. She is wearing a Buddhist blue solid gauze skirt and coat embroidered with flowing clouds and bats, and she wears Tangli brown pearls on her head to wipe her forehead.
Sitting on the Shoushan stone officer's hat chair, his eyebrows were lowered, and his face was faintly stern.
A little girl of twelve or thirteen years old was kneeling next to the footrest and beating her legs.
Cen Tong came in to greet his mother: "The old lady has seen many guests today, so she must be a little tired. The Poria cocos powder brought back by my son is the most mild and nourishing. I can ask them to make some goat's milk and drink it in the morning and evening."
"I know your filial piety, but at this age, you don't do anything every day, and your body is often sore." Mrs. Lu said that she raised her hand to beat her shoulder, and the maid beside her quickly came over to beat her.
With.
"I wonder if the mother has called her son here to give him any instructions?" Cen Tong asked.
"You won't leave when you return to Beijing this time, right?" Mrs. Lu asked, looking at her son's face.
Her first two children died in infancy, and Cen Tong was her third child and the eldest son of the Hou family.
Mrs. Lu had high hopes for this son, but it was a pity that no one in the world could escape the word "backfire".
"The scenery of Tianmen Mountain is unique, and Yunchu has never been there..." Cen Yunchu is Cen Tong's only daughter.
"Why is a girl traveling all over the world?" Mrs. Lu interrupted her son: "Besides, she is already sixteen years old. Shouldn't you worry about her life-long affairs?"
"My son is thinking of delaying it for two years..." Cen said with a smile.
"I'm old now, and I turn a blind eye to many things." Mrs. Lu coughed slightly, and the servant next to her immediately withdrew: "But girl Yun, we can't delay this matter any longer. Fifteen
It takes more than half a year to discuss the marriage at the age of six, just to change the names, and one year to prepare the dowry, and it is time to leave the court at the age of seventeen or eighteen."
"That's what mother said." Mrs. Tai said she wanted to have dinner with him, but Cen Tong hadn't drank a sip of tea since he came in, let alone ate: "I have to ask Yun Chu about this first."
At this time, Mrs. Lu couldn't hide the displeasure on her face and said: "Since ancient times, marriage between men and women has been dictated by parents and matchmakers. How can she be allowed to make her own decisions?! How are you spoiling this girl?
De is so unattractive!"
Not to mention in the capital, even among the ladies of the past and present, there is no one like Cen Yunchu.
Women in the boudoir pay attention to chastity, quietness and elegance, and their profession is to point needles at women's beauty.
Unexpectedly, Cen Yunchu started his enlightenment at the age of three, wrote poems at the age of five, and was a literary scholar at the age of seven. From the age of five, he traveled around with his father. He did not write half of it, but he read thousands of books and traveled thousands of miles.
Therefore, she is truly an outlier among the noble families.
"She is the only daughter in our Cen family. At this age, who else is not anxious except you, who is not anxious as a father?" The crutch in Mrs. Lu's hand tapped on the ground: "You are still able to get married after you have passed the right age.
Are you going out? Even if you get married, can you still find a good family?!"
"My son didn't say he wouldn't get married, he just said he wanted to hear what she wanted first." Cen Tong still didn't let up.
"Are you sincerely trying to piss me off?!" Mrs. Lu couldn't bear it any longer, and her voice suddenly rose: "I know that you have been hating me for so many years! You no longer want the title, and you don't even want to stay with me!
"
"Mother's words are serious, my son will never blame you." Cen Tong said and knelt down: "Please take care of yourself on this happy day!"
Mrs. Lu cried while beating her chest: "Do you think I'm really stupid? I'm just pretending to be stupid! Outsiders say you don't want to be an official because of your indifferent nature. In fact, I know that since you and that
When a woman reconciles with you, you will become disheartened and have no intention of having a relationship. For so many years, you have guarded a child without even rekindling it. No matter how many times your brother, sister-in-law and brother persuade you, you refuse to look back. What good is she?! She
She’s just a deviant woman!”
Cen Tong's first wife, Dai Mingzhi, was a famous and talented woman in Beijing at that time, and she was also very charming.
The two families are considered to be well-matched, and when they first got married, they were in perfect harmony with each other, like a perfect couple.
But gradually, Dai Mingzhi became unpopular with his parents-in-law because of his withdrawn temperament.
In addition, since she gave birth to Cen Yunchu, it was difficult for her to have children, and her life in the Cen family was really difficult.
After all, she was a person of character and refused to live alone, so she proposed a divorce on her own.
At first, Cen Tong refused to agree to it no matter what. Even if his parents didn't like it, even if he couldn't have children, he didn't care.
But after all, he couldn't bear the thought of Dai Mingzhi becoming increasingly haggard and worried.
The paradise he can provide is too cramped, like cutting off the wings of a flying bird and putting it in a small cage.
What's more, his parents threatened to die, so he had no choice but to reconcile with Dai Mingzhi.
Shortly thereafter, Dai Mingzhi married Ke Yutang, who is now the military governor of southern Sichuan.
After the death of the old marquis, Cen Tong took the title, but after the period of mourning, he gave up the title and took his daughter out of Beijing to travel around in the mountains and rivers to relieve his feelings.
"I'm about to die, and the one I worry about the most is you," Mrs. Lu's mood calmed down a little, and her tone was sad: "It's just that I have some faults. You see, I gave birth to you..."
"The mother left her son with no place to live," Cen Tong stepped forward to support Lu, his voice choked with sobs: "The son is unfilial, and the son deserves to die."
"My son! Mother knows that you are the most filial person, so listen to mother's advice! It is a virtue for a woman to be untalented, and Yun Chu should learn to be more attentive."
